Tuesday, 20 June 2017

There is a classic
sumptuousness about these pieces that is unique to the work of Felix Vetter. A
kind of baroque lyricism. Lushness and abandon as opposed to minimalist control.
Enjoy them. Do not sell the

One can see the pleasure
he had in designing these pieces.

Felix, more than any other local
goldsmith that I am familiar with, was able to create an intimacy between his
jewellery and the person that wears it. This is especially evident with the
detailed attention given to the inside of his rings. It is like a little secret
that is only really enjoyed and appreciated by the person who wears it.

Thursday, 9 February 2017

Twentieth century contextual
issues that contributed to the beneficiation of precious metals in South
Africa.

Fred
van Staden

E-mail: fvanstaden@mweb.co.za

(Published in the South African journal of Cultural History, July 2016, 30(1), pp.119-143)

This paper comprises a review of a number of
situational factors that contributed to the development of gold- and silver smithing
over the course of the twentieth century. Through literature searches,
interviews, e-mail exchanges and internet searches, summaries with relevant
information are composed. Finally, the possible emergence of a South African
design domain during this time is commented on.

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
only a slow trickle of local jewellery was produced from within South Africa.
Emphasis was placed on silver hollowware and flatware, rather than creative
expressions of jewellery. Where jewellery was produced, such as buckles,
buttons, bracelets and brooches, it was strongly based on European styles with
little (if any) effort made to reflect an African idiom within the designs or
decorations.[2]
While local interest in jewellery making was stimulated by the discovery of
diamonds and gold in the late nineteenth century, artist-jewellers remained
mostly unknown until the early to mid-twentieth century with the emergence of
offerings by goldsmiths such as Anthony Sidersky, Jack Friedman, Felix Vetter
and Kurt Jobst.[3]

Figure 1: A rare ‘South Africanised’ Cape silver
medallion (1825) presented by the British colonialists to Griqua Chief Andries
Waterboer with the Dutch inscription We
all are Brothers

From the mid-twentieth century, local
jewellery-making programmes were introduced in South Africa both privately and
at tertiary institutions of education. The implementation and development of
these training programmes contributed to an increased output of locally made
jewellery pieces, as well as the emergence of more abstract jewellery designs
in which the mixing of different metals and materials, such as semi-precious
stones, and organic materials, such as bone, wood, ivory, animal claws and
hair, were introduced. Early proponents of this renewal were Else
Wongtschowski, Joe Calafato and the Haglund workshop.[4] It was this generation of
precious metal artists that also began to express indigenous geological,
wildlife and cultural inspirations in their designs.[5]As time went by, these organic expressions of
the 1950s to the early 1970s changed, with cleaner and modernised lines being used (perhaps also following
the dominant Scandinavian trend in international precious metal design where
the emphasis was placed on simple stylised lines).[6]

Figure 2: Design development in
the work of Joe Calafato. The top row reflects work that was done in the early
1950s whereas the bottom row represents designs that stem from the 1970s.

(Photo: F. van Staden, Pretoria, 2014)

Method

A review of pertinent literature on factors that contributed to the
conditions under which precious metal jewellery making took place was compiled
in order to describe aspects of the contexts in which silver- and goldsmiths
were operating in the early to late twentieth century. The review included
publications in academic journals, books and suitable magazines such as the South
African Panorama, Lantern, Artlook Magazine,The S.A. Jewellerandthe Diamond News, The Diamond
News and S.A. Watchmaker and Jeweller as well as internet searches.

Gold- and silversmiths whose work was covered in an earlier series of
articles[7]
were also requested to comment on the organisational climate and changes that
took place during the time under review. In cases where the gold- and
silversmiths have passed away, efforts were made to contact their families or
co-workers such as engravers, enamellists and die sinkers to supplement and
corroborate existing information.

The interviews and all pertinent e-mail exchanges were content analysed
and referenced against the available literature.An initial draft was submitted to a few
experienced practitioners for review. Where warranted, the text was adapted.[8]

Some contextual issues shaping
the character of a South African gold- and silversmith tradition in the
twentieth century.

Socio-economic conditions

At the turn of the century, the aftermath of the South African (Anglo
Boer) War set the scene for economic hardship for the average South African
during most of the first half of the twentieth century. The First World War,
the economic depression of the 1930s and the Second World War added to the
challenges of a divided and developing country. The country’s fortunes changed
after the Second World War, and it began to experience sustained economic
growth like never before – mostly because of increasingly extensive mining of
diamonds and precious metals. The growing South African economy required
skilled workers, and (partly through government incentives) these were
attracted from a Europe still trying to recover from the devastation of the
spoils of war. Gold- and silversmiths from the Baltic countries, northern
Europe and even a few from Scandinavia settled in their numbers in South Africa
during the 1950s onwards.

Along with the metamorphosis from a struggling and mostly pastoral
economy during the first part of the twentieth century into a diversifying and
growing economy during the latter, a changing South African patriotismarose throughout the century, incarnating
from British dominance into Afrikaner nationalism and finally into an inclusive
South African democracy. This has set the political and socio-economic contexts
in which goldsmiths involved in the local beneficiation of precious metals
found its expression and changing identity.

The introduction of jewellery counters in department stores during the
1960s not only challenged the existence of small individually owned retail
stores, but through lower priced imports it also impacted the local producers
of jewellery.[9]During the 1970s and 1980s little growth took
place in the local industry in terms of quantity.

Since exporting on any significant scale was blocked through
international sanctions, only small amounts of South African designed and
manufactured jewellery reached the international market. In addition, the gold
price increased exponentially in 1979 and continued to soar in South African
rand terms over the next two decades. This placed increasing strain on the
making and marketing of local jewellery.[10]Businesses went insolvent, resulting in an
additional impact on the local market. Much of the formal training that took
place at the time did not include the acquisition of sufficient business skills
to establish and develop a business. Owing to the nature of the educational
system and the industry, many small businesses were established which all
competed for a piece of a small cake.[11]

During the 1990s a noticeable increase in break-ins and attacks on
goldsmiths occurred. The added security measures and additional expenses in
building up new stock had a negative effect on growth in the industry.[12]

Nevertheless, the last decades of the twentieth century brought the
promise of a local renaissance in the creation of precious metal art. At the
end of the twentieth century an inclusive multicultural South African designer
generation was introduced to the local market. The promise of a diversified
definition of South African jewellery design came to the fore – a
diversification that began to absorb and express varied cultural inspirations
and backgrounds, within the parameters of a South African consciousness.[13]

However, because of competitive pricing and increased exposure to
international markets, a great deal of manufactured jewellery for the mass
market imported from China, especially, has resulted in a local market that is
still housing only a small mass-manufacturing component.[14]

Structural development

In the midst of the Second World War (March 1942) the South African
Jewellers’ Association Ltd came to life in Johannesburg. Within fifteen years
it had successfully established branches countrywide (Border, Port Elizabeth,
Durban, East London, Cape Town, Pretoria, Johannesburg and Kimberley, with
provincial branches in the Transvaal, the Free State, Natal and the Western
Province). The Johannesburg branch was the most differentiated of all the
structures and comprised three sections that represented the concerns of
wholesale jewellers and manufacturers, with separate representation for retail
jewellers and manufacturing jewellers.[15]
In 1955 the Cape Jewellery Manufacturing Association was formed and seceded
from the South African Jewellery Manufacturers’ Association but remained
affiliated with the mother body, the South African Jewellers’ Association. The
main reason for seceding was that decisions by the South African Jewellers’
Association tended to ignore their interests.[16]
For the rest of the twentieth century the Cape Jewellery Manufacturers’
Association kept functioning as a separate interest group until it amalgamated
with the Jewellery Council of South Africa in 2012 because of poor membership
rates.[17]

Apart from the initial Transvaal Jewellery Manufacturers’ Association
(under the umbrella of the S.A. Jewellery Association) and the Cape Jewellery
Manufacturers’ Association, the creation of precious metal artefacts (be they
jewellery, flat- or hollowware) in South Africa was regulated by the Industrial
Council for the Jewellery and Precious Metal Industry. It was constituted under
the Industrial Council Act in November 1945.[18]
Together, they defined four main sections of creative precious metal
artisanship – designing, making, setting and polishing – and laid down an
ethical code along with training and production requirements. No specialisation
took place and apprentices had to be competent in all categories of the trade.[19]

Up until the mid-1950s the jewellery manufacturing market was protected
by law and international companies were not allowed to operate within the
country. In one case an Italian company wanted to start a gold chain
manufacturing operation in the late 1950s but permission was not granted.[20]
Nevertheless, the early South African Jewellers’ Association was successful in
lobbying the government to ease import/export trade restrictions. An important
milestone was reached in 1955 when custom tariffs on watches and jewellery were
relaxed.[21] The
following jewellery-related items were removed entirely from the ‘restricted’
list:

…
imitation jewellery and rolled gold, enamel or gilt jewellery; precious stones
and pearls and imitations thereof, cut or polished and whether mounted or
unmounted; completed portions or parts of any article of jewellery, imitation
or otherwise; bangles, necklaces, girdles, muff chains, clasps and similar
articles of adornment.[22]

The relaxation of duty tariffs also meant that local gold- and
silversmiths faced increased competition from other countries and from the
South African Mint.[23]
In 1956 the Association successfully petitioned the government to restrict open
market related activities by the South African Mint.[24]

An issue that caught the attention of the Association already in the
1950s was how to tap into a growing African market.[25]

Figure
3: List of founding members of the Jewellery Council of South Africa in 1972

(Photo: F. van Staden,
Johannesburg, 2012)

In 1972 a new umbrella body named the Jewellery Council of South Africa
was constituted. It replaced the S.A. Jewellers’ Association and included
representation from wholesalers, retailers and manufacturers,[26]
along with additional representation from mining houses, the Indian Jewellers’
Association, the Diamond Club of South Africa, the Swiss Watch Federation, as
well as the Diamond Cutters’ Association, with the University of Stellenbosch
representing the education sector. A nine-member executive committee
representing all interest groups in the jewellery trade was formed. Amongst its
aims were the setting and maintaining of standards along with increased
education and awareness, as well as liaison with the government and other
stakeholders in the trade. It was constituted to be an umbrella organisation
that included representation from the mining houses as well as the
diamond-cutting and watch-making trade. A central goal of the Council was to
set up a regulation board for its members and to arbitrate in cases of
complaints from the public.[27]
This organisational development also prompted the government to take more
notice of the Jewellery Council of South Africa as a formally constituted body
that represents of the interests of the industry as a whole.[28]

Government backing

During the early and mid-twentieth century the jewellery trade was
subject to a fair number of regulations and government restrictions. Precious
metal jewellery was regarded as a luxury
commodity and was more strictly controlled than other manufacturing
sectors. In the 1930s, imported jewellery items were also taxed by 30 per cent.
Ironically, through their lack of interest in developing the local jewellery
market, the government also deprived itself of a lucrative tax base.
Manufacturers were only allowed to smelt up to two ounces of gold at a time,
thereby limiting both production and the incentive to keep up with modernised
production methods. Appeals from manufacturers to change the status quo
continued to fall on deaf ears until well after the Second World War. When
import/export controls were relaxed after the war, local jewellery
manufacturers suddenly faced increased competition. Appeals for stimulating the
local market by retaining import duties of 33⅓ per cent were ignored.[29]

For most of the century, the industry was not supported with seed money
or organisational assistance by the government.[30]
Its development remained restricted because of both internal and external
socio-political constraints. Government was not interested in the jewellery
sector; its main concern was to maximise bullion production for export, thereby
bolstering the country’s balance of payments. It was only in 1987 that the
Jewellery Council of South Africa was for the first time formally recognised as
a representative body by the government. In this year the first government
inquiry was held into ways in which the local jewellery industry could be
stimulated. In response to a questionnaire in this regard, the jewellery
manufacturers at the time contended that they

…were
constrained by working capital, the purchase of gold, sanctions, the training
of labour, the gold ratio and the size of the local market…[31]

It is during the late 1980s that the government showed its first serious
intention to assist the development of the local jewellery sector. The
manufacturing jewellery sector was declining rapidly, and for the first time the
importance of the beneficiation of precious metals was recognised. Legislative
reforms began to ensure easier access to gold, ad valorem tax of 35 per
cent was abolished in 1990, and jewellers permits were for the first time
granted to all races. However, it would take years to address the decades of
stagnation and neglect of the jewellery sector because of excessive taxation
and an unfavourable economic climate at the end of the century. At this time,
South Africa was still only capturing 0,2 per cent of the world’s jewellery
production.[32]

A law introduced in 1913, requiring goldsmiths to keep a detailed record
of their acquisition and disposal of gold, was applied throughout the twentieth
century. The ‘gold police’ paid unannounced auditing visits to businesses, and
caused resentment amongst goldsmiths. It was well known that goldsmiths were
regarded with suspicion by government, especially since an extensive trade in
gold stolen from the mines became a chronic problem throughout most of the
century. As early as in 1925 it was estimated that about £100 000 worth of gold
jewellery was imported, whereas about £350 000 worth of illicit gold jewellery
was made inside the country.Interestingly, only the beneficiation process of gold was regulated.
Silver and platinum remained unregulated.[33]

Job Reservations Act (1911-1994)

A political factor that
contributed to the definition of the South African precious metal beneficiation
process during the twentieth century is that whereas white skilled workers from
Europe were encouraged to immigrate, black South Africans were formally
excluded from the trade as part of the country’s Job Reservations Act. Blacks
were allowed to polish the precious metal objects but they were not allowed to
design, make or set the jewellery items.[34]
Nevertheless, it appears that the Act was widely undermined and throughout the
twentieth century blacks and coloureds were (for the most part clandestinely)
trained in all facets of the creative and manufacturing process, even in
designing. Some also worked on commission from their homes. Occasionally the
inspectors issued transgressing workshops with fines and at other times the
authorities were bribed.[35]

Along with a growing economy, the jewellery sector also expanded somewhat
during the latter half of the century (albeit at a slower pace). The market
increasingly required more skilled workers than what was supplied by whites
only. By the early 1980s many jewellery manufacturing concerns were openly
training and employing South Africans from all racial groups in the various
phases of jewellery making.[36]
While open access to tertiary training institutions existed from the early
1990s, at the end of the century the first of a number of training institutions
dedicated to the training of previously disadvantaged black people was
established in Atteridgeville in Tshwane in 1998. It is a privately funded
institution called Vukani Ubuntu Jewellery Design School and offers a
three-year design and jewellery making course.The success of the school led to the opening of other training venues in
Virginia, Barberton and Kimberley.[37]

The South African Indian goldsmith tradition

Amongst the first Indians that came to South Africa were goldsmiths who
kept the craft of making Indian culturally inspired jewellery alive. Their
jewellery-making skills were passed on from generation to generation. Since the
Indian community has a long tradition of gold- and silversmithing, they applied
their artistry throughout their settlement in South Africa, despite being
marginalised through restrictive labour laws.[38]

Whereas only white people were allowed to buy unwrought gold, the law
was already relaxed in 1915 in the case of Indians residing in Natal. They
could buy gold by means of a police permit. Indian goldsmiths were based mainly
in Durban and Pietermaritzburg. In their designs, the emphasis was placed
primarily on mythological Indian depictions. In the nineteenth century they imported
gold jewellery from India, destined for Cape Town and Durban.[39]
This continued throughout the twentieth century, and sometimes dies[40]
were also imported from India.[41]
Apprenticeships were offered within the community. Indian goldsmiths worked
mostly in 22 carat gold (as opposed to the more familiar 9 and 18 carat gold
used in mainstream South African gold jewellery production). As was the case in
Europe, apprentice jewellers had to complete a five-year training period with
recognised master silver- and goldsmiths before they were accepted as master
goldsmiths in their own right. In the mid-1970s, the first formal South African
qualification specialising in the art of jewellery design and making was
instituted at the Durban Technikon.[42]

In 1972 an Indian Jewellers’ Association was already well established
and incorporated in the founding of the Jewellery Council of South Africa.[43]
At first it became one of the strongest affiliations with the Council, but
barely a decade later, in 1985, the Natal Indian Goldsmiths Association ceased
to exist – ostensibly because of an unfavourable financial climate coupled with
a high gold price.[44]

Partly because of apartheid laws and an entrenched cultural expression,
South African Indian jewellery design was inwardly focused for the most part of
the twentieth century. The insularity of their designs was not impacted by design
trends in the rest of the country or from the West. However, with apartheid
waning in the late twentieth century, a new openness to outside jewellery
trends became noticeable, and designs by South African Indian goldsmiths became
more stylised and sculptural, expressing affinity with the dominant trend in
the rest of the country.[45]

Jewellery competitions and exhibitions

Early efforts at stimulating the local jewellery trade were initiated in
the 1950s by a De Beers advertising campaign in marketing the combined
investment and beauty value of diamonds. As part of their marketing drive, De
Beers sponsored the first Diamond International Award design competition in
1953. This competition became a biennial event throughout the rest of the
twentieth century and played a significant part in stimulating jewellery design
both locally and internationally.[46]
This initiative was followed in the 1960s by government-sponsored arts and
crafts exhibitions that included a collection of local jewellery makers’ work at
Florence in Italy, as well as a few international group exhibitions in
Washington and London.[47]
These exhibitions were held under the auspices of the government Departments of
Foreign Affairs and Information. The sporadic nature of the exhibitions perhaps
also reflects the lack of government commitment to develop the jewellery trade.

In 1970, the South African mining fraternity initiated an annual Chamber
of Mines Gold Jewellery Competition with Dieter Steglich, Erich Frey and Abe
Pass winning first prizes in different categories of the competition.[48] A total of 169 jewellery items were entered
for the first competition, exhibited by the Chamber of Mines at the Rand Easter
Show in Johannesburg.[49]
Successive national competitions held by the International Gold Corporation
followed.[50]

Figure 6: Dieter Steglich’s
award-winning bracelet in the Chamber of Mines’ Gold Jewellery Competition in
1970. The bracelet featured five moonstones and 12 rubies in ‘lunar textured’
gold.

(Photo: F. van Staden, Pretoria, 2013)

In the late 1970s these competitions were diversified to include
Intergold competitions along with the De Beers Diamond Today and the Diamonds
Tomorrow Student Design competitions.[51] The competitions appear to have been
successful not only as marketing and educational tools, but they also launched
or stimulated successful careers for almost all of the early award winners.

In 1979 Intergold introduced the concept of pairing local couturiers and
goldsmiths in a celebrated exhibition named Gold and Threads. Local fashion
designers such as Errol Arendz, Marianne Fassler, Wynand Bezuidenhoudt, Lucy
Renew and Suki Crawford’s designs were paired with the designs of local
goldsmiths such as Kurt Donau, Ewald and Liz Kratz, Guy Traest, Hartmut Jäger
and Jochen Kessel.[52]
The success of this concept led De Beers Intergold to produce televised
fashion-jewellery shows in Basle, Milan, Rome and New York.[53]In the following years two more
fashion-jewellery twinning exhibitions were held.[54]
In addition,a collaborative marketing
drive with an international fashion research house was launched in 1985 where
the work of Guy Traest, Geophrey Foden, Ewald and Liz Kratz as well as Jochen
Kessel were promoted as representative of contemporary international fashion
styles of the time.[55]

Technological advances

An important interpretive dimension of jewellery making over the course
of the twentieth century involved major changes and possibilities offered by
technological advances, especially during the latter half of the century. The
industry moved from mouth-blown soldering torches and hand engravings to
computerised laser cutting, soldering and engraving within the course of four
decades. Along with the dawn of the twenty-first century came technological
advances in terms of computer software and laser technology where the design,
die sinking, waxing, melting and soldering processes have been increasingly
automated. This has brought new design opportunities but has also resulted in a
loss of artisan skills.[56]

These technological advances also crept into the creation of individual
items of jewellery or other precious metal objects. It may well be that the
skills of future precious metal artists may increasingly reside only in
creating the design and polishing a finished product. At present, handmade
precious metal jewellery seems to be sustained mainly by commissions from
clients - a shrinking niche market.[57]
The skills of die sinking and engraving by hand are likely to become
increasingly rare and performed mainly by ‘hobbyists’. A similar fate appears
to be awaiting the craft of traditional watchmaking.[58]

Locally, few smiths are still trained in the original craft of smiting –
using a hammer to shape metal.[59]
Likewise, the craft of hand-carved dies also seems to be under threat. As one
octogenarian die sinker professes:

The merging of laser and digital technology is spawning a revolution in the design professions, resulting in the renewal of old tensions between the creative jeweller and the mass manufacturer.[61] Along with this new clinically automated approach to precious metal design through three-dimensional (3D) modelling and wax casting, it seems likely that many of the skills of the master craftsmen that characterised the twentieth century will be diminished. With it, a bit of the soul that twentieth century precious metal artists brought to their profession may also be lost. As some goldsmiths put it:

… they are taking away the art of sitting down at the workbench and creating an object of beauty with your hands.[62]

Maybe the whole trade will become virtual, and a goldsmith will be someone who files and polishes castings and does minor repairs.[63]Bleak as this may sound, there will always be some demand for
individually handmade metal artistry, requiring creativity and a range of
applied skills at the workbench. It is mainly technical ability and individual
creativity that will keep the artistic jeweller alive. Goldsmith Geophrey Foden
eloquently formulates the counter argument:

Lazer
technology is one thing, it is a manufacturing process. Some of the worst
designs I’ve ever encountered have been computer generated because it looks too
clean. Jewellery was not meant to look like a 5-point piece of neatly cut
steel. It needs nuances that require a high level of experience in operating
the software programs of the lazer cutting machines. Mass-produced work tends
to be flat in nuance. You can’t teach people design, it’s a gift – the present
technology acts as a pave for those who are not great designers but good
technologists – in this way mediocrity creeps into the industry. But the
industry has a way of correcting itself. The best future scenario would again
be a group effort where the electronic technologist plays an important part in
the manufacturing process.[64]

Figure 8: An engraving done in
the late 1940s by Mr G Xanthides for his mother Elviera

(Photo: F. van Staden, Pretoria, 2009)

Mike Cope, a Cape Town goldsmith, perceives the future of handmade
jewellery as follows:

I
think that if people can learn to make jewellery that provides meaning to the
wearer’s life (instead of monuments to the artist’s ego, in the case of
competition jewellery, or repetitive, derivative bling in the case of the trade
stuff) then there is some hope that people who have this sensitivity and skill
will be needed.[65]

CopyrightHistorically, it appears that metal artists are facing a dilemma similar to the one that the artists from the Arts and Crafts movement faced in dealing with industrialisation. Only this time mass production is even easier, faster and less labour intensive. In this regard, it appears likely that the copyright issue may start playing a more important role in future in protecting designs. Whereas copyright infringements have occurred throughout the ages on the work
of creative silver- and goldsmiths, the high profits from a globalised mass
market may just force the industry and lawmakers to refine copyrights on the
libraries of form, composition and ownership. Be that as it may, in the world
of jewellery making, the root of artistic expression lies in its initial
design. And even more so than in the world of sculpture or painting, the work
of jewellery designers remains subject to be copied by others without much
recourse. This dilemma has continued to frustrate local metal art designers
throughout the twentieth century.[66]

Figure 9: The die that was used
to produce the Spanish dancer by Joe Calafato in the late 1960s (lower figure)
has also been used to produce low-quality copies without a maker’s stamp (top
figure)

(Photo: F. van Staden, Pretoria, 2014)

Outsourcing

To some extent the outsourcing of jewellery components was originally introduced by the generation of manufacturing goldsmiths that established workshops in the 1940s and 1950s - for example, Joe Calafato only did the designing of his work - he had a small workshop of engravers, solderers, die sinkers, polishers and setters, but would often outsource some work to independent specialists.[67] For the generations that followed from the 1960s onwards, it appears that co-operation between workshops diminished somewhat, giving way to a small number of mass manufacturers who created every component of their products, and a sizeable number of artist jewellers creating handmade one-of-a-kind pieces.

The inability of mass manufacturing silver- and goldsmiths to co-operate and develop specialisation lines (such as chains or clasps) also seems to be reflected in their initial inability to develop unified national organisational structures or associations. Nevertheless, outsourcing of the components of a mass order to a number of suppliers within South Africa and then to assemble the finished products (as is done in the jewellery trade in Hong Kong) is still not possible. A goldsmith of note in the local market points to the following characterisation:

As an industry we are still too fragmented, not co-operating – and that is why it hasn’t really grown.[68]

Emergence of a South African design domain
In 1973 John Donald, a noted English goldsmith at the time, had this to say about the entries for the Chamber of Mines Gold Jewellery Competition:

Some of the pieces tended to be rather derivative of European designs which to some extent is quite natural and which will tend to disappear with the increased competition between designers and manufacturers and a greater awareness of design by the public.[69]

Whereas globalisation and designs in international catalogues continue to have an influence on local precious metal artistry, this prediction appears to have been at least partly fulfilled.[70] The search for indigenous South African rooted design inspirations was also strengthened by the isolation that was forced onto local jewellery designers as a result of apartheid-related sanctions during the latter half of the twentieth century.[71]

Proponents of South African inspired jewellery design aesthetics were noticeable for the most part of the twentieth century. This identity, developed from the singular use of copper and precious metals during the first part of the twentieth century, gave way in the mid-twentieth century to combining diverse materials such as ivory, wood, bone and even animal hair with semi-/precious stones and often a mixing of metals.[72] Thematically, the early naturalist expressions of African animal, plant, cultural and mineral bounty were either reformulated during the latter half of the twentieth century into flowing abstract sculptural lines or expressed in hyper realistic form.

Perhaps it is fitting that one of the first generation of full-time female goldsmiths in South Africa was also responsible for initiating a South African inspired jewellery design that grew organically from her perceptive engagement with her adopted fatherland. Like Walter Batiss a few years before her, Else Wongtschowski also celebrated Bushmen rock art in her work. What is more, already in the early 1950s, she was one of the first of her generation who appreciated the wealth of design possibilities locked up in the use of the abundance of Southern African semi-precious stones. These two design components became a fundamental matrix from which a South African styled jewellery domain would slowly emerge. This set the tone for the development of a South African design theme that was later to become known as safari jewellery.[73]

At around the same time during the mid-twentieth century, the workshops of Haglund in Johannesburg and Joe Calafato in Pretoria also took up the challenge to produce African inspired jewellery ranges and flatware that contributed greatly to the development of an artistic appreciation of the indigenous African world in which they were operating.

Figure 10: From the mid-twentieth century, jewellery makers began to experiment with the use of materials other than precious metals and stones. The above collection of local ware includes the use of ostrich egg, animal fur and claws, semi-precious stones and raffia.(Photo: F. van Staden, Pretoria, 2013)

From the mid 1950s, like Else Wongtschowski a few years before them, Haglund Jewellers in Johannesburg began to create jewellery designs with themes depicting traditional African cultural life and wildlife images. The nephew goldsmiths Hans Blum and Rolf Waizenegger were the owners and they also gained inspiration from Bushmen rock art for some of their souvenir jewellery designs. But they went further and extended their collection by adding cultural images, such as head dresses, village life and animal studies to their design portfolio. The anthropological tones inherent in their work have contributed to its collector’s value.[74] Geophrey Foden joined the business in the 1970s and contributed to a refinement of the early Haglund work to reflect the tastes of the time. They continued to incorporate Bushmen art in their jewellery designs, along with the setting of locally available semi-precious stones. Throughout the latter half of the twentieth century the workshop created reinterpretations of African wildlife expressions, culminating in combining hues of gold, black and silver (incorporating pearls, diamonds or ivory) with mixtures of matt and gloss finishes.

Another manufacturing workshop that helped pioneer the indigenisation of jewellery design was owned and managed by Joe Calafato. In 1947 he resigned from his job as designer jeweller at the South African Mint and opened a jewellery workshop in the Pretoria city centre. From that time onwards until the end of his career in 1984, a timeline can be captured in his design development. It is expressed in terms of a fading European influence mingling with a strengthening African influence both in terms of inspiration and form. A clear migration took place from his original retro moderne scroll abstractions to ‘organic realism’ in expressing plant, animal and human form, culminating in an almost exclusive emphasis on African landscape, animal and village life. At the end of his career, his work matured into extensively espousing images of the African continent.[75]

The work of Eone de Wet (active from 1956-2011) also included African cultural icons such as masks and weaving patterns.[76] In the mid1950s, the creations of Gilroy and Jo King along with Erich Frey promoted the assimilation of Southern African semi-precious stones in their designs.[77] In the late 1960s Maia Holm made use of beading with reference to the Ndebele custom in her exhibition jewellery that toured the country as part of a national exhibition on the work of women in the South African arts and crafts.[78]

In the mid-1970s Erich Frey proclaimed that successful jewellery design remains intimately connected with the country in which it was made, be it the Scandinavian countries, or Germany or South Africa. This sentiment was underscored by European critics who described Frey’s work as having …a definite African flavour.[79] And in 1985 Stephen Colegate commented that a distinct South African definition of jewellery design (as espoused by the work of Frey and others) had become a reality.[80]

The above jewellery designers were early explorers of African inspired work in the world of precious metal artistry. Thematically, their naturalist expressions of our indigenous South African bounty have laid the foundation for the development of a South African design style that continues to be built upon and reformulated up to the present. Also, from the singular use of precious metals and stones in the early days, the use of mediums diversified during the mid-twentieth century to any combination of varied indigenous materials such as ivory, wood, bone and even animal hair paired with semi-/precious stones and often, a mix of metals.[81]

Figure 11: Versatile mix of mother of pearl, diamonds, gold, stinkwood and stone in one design by Franz Hupperz from the early 1980’s

(Photo: Hellmut Wilhelm, Somerset West, 15 September 2014)

Conclusion

With the democratisation of South Africa, the beginning of the last decade of the twentieth century brought considerable hope and opened new vistas for self-expression and diversification, also in the world of precious metal artistry.

At the end of the twentieth century, workshops and studios have mushroomed to large numbers throughout the country. In 1973 the jewellery manufacturing trade consisted of about 400 practising jewellers (of whom only 12 were women), along with 50.[82] According to a study by De Beers in 1997, the South African jewellery industry was estimated at R3 billion with a breakdown of R1.3 billion invested in the local diamond jewellery sector, and the local gold jewellery sector accounting for approximately R1 billion. The remaining R800 000 was captured by the watch sector. In 2003 the manufacturing trade showed phenomenal growth by having established approximately 350 manufacturing concerns (ranging between mostly small studios and a few large workshops) countrywide.[83] This is also the fruit of 6 tertiary jewellery design programmes in the country.

At the end of the century, the gold- and silversmith society has changed from a primarily immigrant and male population to incorporating an Afrikaans presence to finally including a more culturally diverse base (recognising the culture of jewellery making that has long ago been imported from India and Batavia, as well as its African promise with well-espoused roots in Southern Zimbabwe, Mapungubwe and on South Africa’s coastlines)[84] along with a much stronger female presence than ever before.[85]

[4]F. van Staden, Erich Frey and
Associates: A bold contribution to South African silver- and goldsmith design, South African Journal of Cultural History,
June 2011, 25(1), pp. 148-179. F.
van Staden, Legacies of immigrant gold- and silversmiths during early and
mid-twentieth century South Africa, South African Journal of Cultural
History, June 2013, 27(1), pp. 139-163.

[7]This review follows upon a series of articles covering
the era between 1900 and 1980. Those
creative goldsmiths who are not reviewed in this article can be referenced in
the following texts published by the author in the South African Journal of Cultural History:

Erich
Frey and Associates: A bold contribution to South African silver- and goldsmith
design, June 2011, 25(1), pp. 148-179.

Early and mid twentieth century South Africa: Legacies of local gold- and
silversmiths, June 2013, 27(1), pp. 139-163.

Rooted in the 1950s: An overview of noted gold- and silversmiths in South
Africa, to be published in June 2014, 28(1).

South African precious metal design between 1960 and 1980, submitted for
review, March 2014.

The
period from 1980 to 2000 is for the most part not included in this review
because of limitations to manuscript length. In addition, it covers a phase of
significant socio-organisational change and requires a review in its own right.

[15]Mr M Cohen, The South African Jeweller’s Association
Ltd, The Diamond News and the S.A. Watchmaker
and Jeweller, September 1950, p.42.

[16]Mr JB Pinn, Past year most beneficial to the jewellery
trade: Activities of Western Province Branch of Association reviewed by
chairman, The Diamond News and the S.A.
Watchmaker and Jeweller, April 1955, p. 57.

[22]Author unknown, Relaxation of import control measures
on jewellery lines, Diamond News and the
S.A. Watchmaker and Jeweller, November 1954, p. 57.

[23]Author unknown, 200 trained jewellers unemployed, The S.A. Jeweller and the Diamond News,
August 1957, p. 7. Also, according to a number of interviewees, on the open
market in the 1950s to the 1960s, gold could not be exported in its ‘raw’ form
as ingots. It had to be transformed into a value-added product. Thus it
happened that mostly on commission, some gold- and silversmiths cast objects
such as weighty ashtrays in 24 carat gold for export.

[24]Author unknown, Jewellers’Association protests against
‘unfair activities’ of S.A. Mint, The
Diamond News and the S.A. Watchmaker and Jeweller, pp. 66-67, April 1956.

[25]Editorial, New year – new direction, The Diamond News and the S.A. Watchmaker and
Jeweller, January 1958, p. 3. Also, author unknown, Union’s trade with the
non-whites: Big new customer slowly emerging, The Diamond News and the S.A. Watchmaker and Jeweller, August 1959,
p. 21.

[26] The Transvaal Jewellery Manufacturers’
Association renamed itself in the late 1980s as the South African Jewellery
Manufacturers’ Association. Alice Weil, Government recognises Jewellery
Council, The Diamond News and S.A.
Jeweller, April 1987, p. 3.

[33]M. do Rosário Pinto Pereira da Silva, From
Dynamism to Dormancy: The Jewellery Industry in Johannesburg: 1925-2003,
unpublished DPhil thesis, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg,
2007,pp. 140-143. Locally made
jewellery gold was recognisable asmostly consisting of sub-standard quality and was sold much cheaper than
imported jewellery. The caratage of illicit pieces could not be controlled
since no hallmarking system existed.

About this blog.

The aim of this blog is to gather and disseminate information on 20th century gold- and silversmiths in South Africa. This include the recording of names, maker’s marks and the dates they were in use, contributions, biographies of the gold- and silversmiths, published and as yet unpublished information along with interviews on the history of the creative precious metal market in South Africa.

I have published a few articles on this topic in the South African Journal of Cultural History. in the process of gathering information, I realised that much more on this era of gold- and silversmithing in South Africa still needs to be uncovered and documented. Hopefully this website will be of use to gather information on the legacies of local gold- and silversmiths.

Please feel free to comment and add information that may be helpful in refining and colouring in our memories of the goldsmiths of South Africa and their work during the 20th century.

About Me

My fascination with the creative joy behind precious metal artistry has made me want to know more about South African precious metal artists and their creations.
I know there are others too who share in this quest to record our gold- and silversmiths' pursuit of beauty and wonder - an appreciation of the interplay amongst design, texture, colour, reflection of light.
During a school holiday in 1969, I learned how to cut and polish semi-precious stones by hand. This lead to a life long fascination with the design of jewellery. At collectors' markets I noticed the makers' marks of local jewelelry but found very little documented information. I began spending time in the National archives and interviewing retired goldsmiths Through their eyes, I began to record and compile as much as I can about their legacies.
A childhood hobby has evolved into agreater appreciation of local precious metal artistry.